Greipel proud

It was his first win of this year's race and fifth at the Tour, and also moved him up to second in the points classification behind Sagan.

"It was a really nervous finish," Greipel said. "I told the guys to wait as long as possible and everybody stay together. We hit the front with 2km to go and everybody could see that we have some horsepower in the team.

"We tried to stay focused to take the victory and I am really proud of this team. They always support me and believe in me."

Froome relieved

Meanwhile, Team Sky leader Chris Froome survived another potentially hazardous day in the peloton unscathed to keep his bid for overall victory on track.

He told teamsky.com: "It has been a stressful week so far, but good at the same time. On the whole we have come through it really well as a team and we're sitting in a really good position now heading into the Pyrenees.

"I am definitely looking forward to getting into the harder climbs now. It has been quite nerve-wracking on the flats.

"Everyone is really close on the general classification and everyone is fighting for position, but hopefully once we hit the climbs it is going to open up a little bit more and the race will calm down a bit."